Closed For the Love of Pycons [Aello]

[Ball]

4th of Fall 512AV

So far today the Blue Pycon didn't call upon his round squire for anything. Lucky too, because the last day of practice was in the art of grueling torture for the poor pycon. The next day was a day of immense pain, the urge to remain laying spherically near his furry companion and remaining there all day. That didn't happen though, he was forced to roll from his companion and repeat his chore of assuming a humanoid shape and start the torture over again.

Today though, today the clay being was in a lot of pain, but it felt good to stretch out his body, having been crammed into a metallic shell for so long the Pycon almost forgot what it felt like to stretch and squirm and move about freely. It felt great actually!

Leaving his mount outside the Blue Pycon Knight's tent the squire rolled himself through the bustling campsite until he was past the perimeter and made his way into the clearing he found two days ago and sparred with the Pretty Lady Pycon. That wasn't as bad as the afternoon though, at the camp site. It hurt far too much. Ignoring those painful memories the round being found a nice little plot of moist dirt and grass in the edging of the clearing were he plopped himself down and smoothed himself out, nearly blending into the churned up dirt and clods of grass around him, but being a being of clay the best he could appear as was a flat brown rock.

I hope no one steps on me.

[Aello]

Muddied irises trailed over a bed of uneven terrain. The spikes atop the earth's crown, which fell into narrowed dips and defiles; laden with the world's ridden bounty. Leaves, stripped of their moisture, their leathery flesh shifting from a deep forest green to the dirt's brown. Parched skin crackling as the wind swept over, rustling their corpses, tearing strips away from central stalks, and their supporting arteries and veins. Furled needles fluttered down from higher up; laying strewn across the forest floor much as their far more ornately adorned brethren. Pointing the way to bloodless corpses; a trail by which the huntress could easily follow. The girl tread by their side, following not only the leaves but the shape of the hollowed earth, small steps left in a creature's wake. A pad no greater than an inch, and likely a few fractions smaller, that was straight about the bottom, before it grew wider and then lobed at the farthest point. They seemed to keep to open ground, away from the trees and low lying branches. Well away from larger roots, which, judging simply from the step, they'd have to jump over to bypass. Aello didn't find this to be particularly strange, although, she was beginning to wonder why Lily had chosen to walk along the same path, or rather run, in order to keep up with her. As her fist tightened around the supple curve of her father's old bow, and the simple cotton fabric of her deep blue dress rippled in the breeze as the water over the coast, she could only breath deeply in through the nose and out through the nose as she forced herself to keep an eye on both. Less she lose the trail, or have her companion stumble unwillingly into a pile of trouble. As the pair glided along, weaving their way in and out of the endless line of trees, Aello began to notice the trail she and her pycon left in their wake. Her own prints a messy shift along the dirt, and her companion's far smaller. Similar to her own in shape, yet in size to whatever it was they were trailing after. A squirrel she supposed, or a chipmunk. Hardly enough for a full meal, but enough to add a few tasty, tender strips of meat to a hardy stew, and perhaps a few rasher of whatever dried meat she had left in her pack. The young woman sighed. She wondered what she had been hunting for the past several chimes, and when the trail would grow to an end. For, unlike most other times she had set out to hunt, she was growing impatient. If only Lily bothered to peer over her shoulder, she'd be able to tell her companion was growing restless by the way her thumb idly stroked the bow's grip. Aello always did that when she was getting restless, among other things. But for now, she had to quell her frustrations, for unlike Lily, she wasn't so easy to feed. Her energy restored as she poured sustenance down her throat. So again, the huntress sighed as she continued on for several more chimes, rounding a cluster of pines before coming to a halt, just as the prints had. "Where'd the trail go?" she whispered, as she looked over a clearing surrounded by trees and rocky outcrops. As far as she could tell, there was nothing lying in the dirt, and nothing sitting atop a rock, sunning itself. Which left the trees to inspection. She gave each of the two or three nearby a cursory glance, to see if any of the bark had been scraped away by an animal clawing its way into higher branches. None seemed to have been, which made her wonder if the thing was strong enough to do so, or if something had snatched it off the ground with its talons. Dismayed, Aello chewed her lower lip as her chest rose and fell evenly, and she looked down to her companion. "It couldn't just have ended here," she added. "The animal had to go somewhere." Lily had halted, and soon turned to face her. Her lips curling into a delicate smile, as her eyes, seemingly etched into her sweet clay face, held the huntress' gaze. They were large and unflinching, a relentless calm; like waters stilled after the turbulence of a storm. "It wasn't an animal Aello," Lily whispered. "It was that," she said, as she lifted her arm, and kept a single finger extended. The huntress followed the line her pycon made with her eyes, and found them settling upon a rock. Her brow furrowed with confusion. "A stone?" Aello asked. When the petch did those things sprout legs and start moving about the forest? "No, not the stone!" "Then what, what are you pointing to? All I see is dirt, trees and more rocks," Aello responded, her tone holding an edge of ice. "THAT!" Lily said as she stepped forward and pointed at the rock Aello had settled on before. "It's a bloody rock Lily," Aello growled. "No it's not!" Lily said. "Can't you see? Didn't you notice the color of it?" Aello nodded, and then let out a deep breath. "It's a damned stone Lily. A crippled piece of earth." "No look!" the pycon insisted as she leaned forward and jabbed the stone with her finger, before retracting her limb and returning it to her side. Aello humored the younger girl. Simply stared, and then grew startled as it stirred. Reflexively, her fist tightened around her bow's grip, as her muscles coiled and uncoiled. Pulsing beneath a bed of startlingly pale flesh. Her heart picked up the pace, drumming out a faster tune as her gaze intensified. Grew to be as relentless as the pycon's. "Lily behind me," Aello instructed, to receive no response from the pycon. "Lily behind me, now." But her pycon wouldn't budge. She was in no mood to obey. OOCI hope this is alright. Tehe.

[Ball]

The 'rock' that Aello was cursing about was indeed not a rock. Neither voices the clay being knew, but he could see them. When they poked he did indeed do little more than ripple and quiver before lurching upward and rolling himself back into a spherical form.

There didn't seem to be any face of any sorts... Nor any appendages. That didn't matter though, anyone with half a brain and any knowledge of Pycons knew that they choice a form befitting themselves... In Ball's case, it was a rather blank uninteresting brownish colored ball. Not very appealing in the least.

That is, until a neat little slit was torn into the being's side facing both of them and spoke with a bubble-popping speech that was riddled with fragmented words that needed piecing together to get the sentence to make any sense. “Wut. Yu.Ou. Wha.Ant?” [“What you want?”] The words sounded like he was irritable, and he indeed was very irritated currently. In the past three days the poor Pycon Squire was beaten, bruised, and battered and all he wanted to do was lay there and relax.

Ball didn't shift from his position as he realized, for the first time, that the brownish-gray girl before him was another Pycon!

The other was a larger Pycon, similar in appearance to the others he knew thus far: Blue Pycon or Pretty Lady Pycon... But this one wasn't blue nor white haired (even though she was still a pretty lady) She did hold a piece of curved wood with a string attached to it, something he heard his liege lord speak of, but couldn't remember the name as of currently. Another Pycon... There wasn't another way to describe what he was feeling. It was shock and awe is the best description to be given.

As for the larger one... he had no name yet for her... Blind Lady Pycon? Yes. She couldn't see me but as a rock, even though it was obvious...

OOC: The other 'Pycons' I stated are Imass and Nira'lia, in that order. Ball thinks all other beings are Pycons, just bigger. Heh.

Oh and I edited post removing references to 'Magical Pycon' who would be Eridanus, just hasn't met him yet as of this thread.

[Aello]

The veins in Aello's neck pulsed. She could feel her blood coursing as frustrations rose. Red pigmentation flooding her cheeks as blue and green rivers rippled beneath her skin. The majority of them hidden by the cotton folds of fabric which covered her body, or her loose strands of chestnut colored hair. Her muddied irises danced, following the flow of the smaller clay bodies. Paying particular attention to the one that remained unfamiliar, and little more than a Ball. "Oh," Aello muttered after a few ticks, alongside the exhalation of the breath she hadn't so much as realized she had been holding in. "It's another of your kind. Although, this one doesn't much look like you Lily." Her pycon merely nodded as she turned back to her brethren, saying nothing. Allowing her traveling companion to speak for each of them. "We didn't want anything in particular. We were just following these prints," Aello explained, as she gestured to the trail they had followed with her free hand. "Suffice it to say they were either yours, or a chipmunk's. Maybe even a squirrel's. They're about the only things small enough," she added with a slight shrug, as her right hand fell against her thigh and she fell silent again. The huntress nibbled her lower lip. Etching crowns into the plump pink line as her eyes remained fixated upon each pycon. Waiting for the stranger to say something, before she drew her teeth off her lower lip. Allowing the color that had drained from the pressure to flood back into them. "Did we disturb you?" she asked, wondering if she should pick up her companion, drop her in a pocket, and allow all of them to be on their way.

[Ball]

Ball watched as Other Pycon moved, talked, and interacted with Blind Lady Pycon. It was rather amusing to say the least. When they finally turned their attention back to Ball, he was bombarded with phrases and questions that he didn't know what to respond to answer first.

Just do my best I guess... Most things are more straight-forward usually. Ball took a slight breath in and started to answer as fast as he could. "No. Sea.En. Udd.Ur. Cree.A.Ture.Ess." ['Seen no other Creatures'] The Pycon shifted so he could better see them both, "No.Bo.Ther. Re.Est.Ing." [No Bother. Resting.'] His ball form rolled in place back and forth slightly, it was an attempt to tell them it was okay.

The Pycon paused and then spoke once again. "I. Ball." Then fell silent. He was at a loss of words, the small clay being was still amazed to find someone else like him.

[Aello]

Aello's lips curled into a delicate grin, which lent a small sparkle to her muddied irises. "That's good, we would hate to be a bother," she spoke for them both, as her pycon ventured a single step back, closer to her leg. As though she were scared, or perhaps, giving room more room to breath, if not herself more room with which to study him. The simplicity of his form. "Anyway, I'm Aello," the huntress introduced herself, as her grin widened. "And I'm Lily," the pycon introduced herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ball." There was a short silence as the wind howled while it swept through the narrowed clearing. The spaces which lingered between the trees, their hollowed bark; clipped wood. "So what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Aello asked. "Other than resting, that is." Likely on some curious adventure that will get him killed, she thought, although she didn't bother to say it aloud.

[Ball]

When Aello and Lily gave him their names he tried to remember them but they quickly slipped his mind to remain forever replaced with Blind Lady Pycon and Other Pycon. Ball made quick work to push out his stubby arms and legs. Once they were formed and he stood he pointed towards the camp. “Wid. Ni.Ts.” ['With Knights.']

The Pycon then turned back towards the other two and then sort of tilted it's body to one side in a quizzical manner. “Re.St.Ing. La.Ot.Of. Ter.An.Ing.” ['Resting, A lot of Training.'] As if that was all he had in mind doing right now. He didn't think it was important to let out that he was a squire, he figured that was obviously common knowledge, most of the camp's residents knew Ball was Imass's squire. Pretty Lady Pycon made it clear that she knew. So Ball just assumed that Aello and Lily knew who he was.

“Wut. You. He.Er. Du.Ing?” ['What you here doing?'] The popping and butchered words startled a few of the small birds in the nearby trees to shrill, but not take off.

[Aello]

With knights? Aello thought to herself. Could they be marching too? Her mind wandered as her eyes took on a far off look. A light glaze passing over them as she fell silent for quite some time. If they are headed to Ravok, or even, just out on patrol, it may not be too safe for the others to remain abreast. But who am I to care for them and their well being? she wondered, as she pulled herself out of her trance, allowing her eyes to fixate upon the strange, simplistically formed pycon once more. After all, we are all on the same side, if somewhat reluctantly, in either case... The wind whistled, rustling the girl's chestnut colored mane. It seemed to whisper in her ear, its ethereal hands cupping the underside, the lobe. Its tongue slithering inside, sharing words grown sweet with its grace, although, it released a sense of foreboding despite, for they seemed only to add to her fears. Not safe. Never safe. You should go. Run... And then it was gone. The sweet voice, melted away as did the snow when it grew to be too warm for its continued existence. Aello could feel her heart beating a little faster. Thumping against her ribs as her chest rose and fell a little less evenly. "We were tracking game," the aurist finally whispered. Her voice lost in her fear, although it failed to shake. Perhaps, then, the pycon would interpret it as a shy nature, her being quiet, but it was difficult to tell. "I am a huntress, and no stranger to the woods. Lily is a companion of mine, growing gifted in the field of medicine." She smiled weakly as the glaze upon her irises fell away, leading into a weaker sparkle than before. "She is good to have around," Aello added, as her face fell, so it lingered more upon the female pycon, or perhaps her feet, than Ball.

[Ball]

Ball seemed to frown, the odd split in his spherical being tugged down slightly in that form at least. He wasn't exactly an expert of human expression, but he could tell she was distract, or at the very list worried about something.

“She. Gu.Ud. Fur.En.Da.” ['She Good Friend.'] The Pycon rolled in place a bit and then shifted his mouth to Lily, “Yu. Ly.Ka. Me. Ma.da. Of. Cl.Ay?” ['You like me, made of clay?'] The pycon was quizzical, she looked like him, well... In composition, but she was different in so many ways. She had actual expressions, a face: mouth, nose, ears. She looked like the other larger Pycons!

She so different... It was almost horridly sad that all Ball had for his 'body' was a ball, and if he forced himself to, a couple of stubby appendages that he could attempt to call arms and legs.

“Yu. Haf. Ar.Umz. An.Da. La.Eggz.” ['You have arms and legs.']

Hell, it didn't even dawn on the poor pycon that her vocabulary was infinitely better than his own.

[Aello]

Lily nodded, "she makes a good companion. Aello is always in the midst of another adventure. So why not immerse myself in her life?" the female pycon asked of Ball before falling silent a moment. Stopping the shake of her head, before starting it up again. "I am a pycon, same as you." Although your form is far more simplistic, she thought to herself as her relentless gaze trailed over Ball's form, and she stilled her body. For a time, Lily remained silent before red pigmentation flooded her cheeks and her tiny clay lips parted to emit a series of giggles that radiated from the back of her throat. "Of course, I would hardly be able to keep up with Aello without them," she commented as she looked up at her companion. A human standing so rigidly. "Isn't that right Aello?" Lily inquired. Thin lines etched themselves across Aello's forehead, as her brow furrowed, easing itself into their path. "What are you talking about?" the huntress asked. "I carry you everywhere," she added, as a small smile crossed her lips, adding a sense of light to her facial features. Lily balled her hands into fists and stomped her way towards Aello, ending behind her foot. "You do not! I am walking now, aren't I?" Aello chuckled. "Hardly," which seemed only to make matters worse, for the young pycon strode past her and into a patch of grass. Startled, the huntress turned from Ball to face her. "Where are you going Lily?" she called after her, only to receive no answer. Aello could scarcely hear Lily's footsteps as her face fell, and slowly, turned back to Ball. She will be back, the aurist thought to herself, she always comes back, her mind added as her thumb glided uneasily over the supple curve of her father's old bow. Her mind trailing off into thoughts of where she may have gone. Her eyes developing a far off look, as though she were in some sort of trance. The male pycon may as well have been alone.